1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display device, and more particularly, to a plasma display device having improved structures of a front substrate and a dielectric layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display device forms an image by exciting fluorescent material using ultraviolet rays generated by discharging the gas filled between two substrates disposed to face each other where a plurality of electrodes are formed.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional plasma display device of a surface discharge type. Referring to the drawing, a dielectric layer 13 is formed on an upper surface of a rear substrate 11 and an address electrode 12 in a striped pattern is embedded in the dielectric layer 13. A partition 14 for defining a discharge space is formed on an upper surface of the dielectric layer 13. A front substrate 15 is installed above the partition 14. A common electrode 16 and a scan electrode 17, both in striped patterns, are formed under a lower surface of the front substrate 15 to cross with the address electrode 12. The common electrode 16 and the scan electrode 17 are provided with bus electrodes 16a and 17a for reducing line resistance. A dielectric layer 18 is formed under the lower surface of the front substrate 15 such that the common electrode 16 and the scan electrode 17 can be embedded. A protective layer 19 formed of MgO, for example, is formed on a lower surface of the dielectric layer 18. A flourescent layer 20 is coated in a discharge space between the partitions 14.
As described above, in the conventional plasma display device having the above structure, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the above electrodes, wall charges are filled inside the discharge space by a preliminary discharge between the address electrode 12 and the common electrode 16. In this state, a maintenance discharge occurs between the common electrode 16 and the scan electrode 17 so that light is emitted.
In manufacturing the dielectric layer 18 of the above plasma display device, a paste formed of material for the dielectric layer 18 is printed on the lower surface of the front substrate 15 where the electrodes 16 and 17 are formed and then the printed paste is dried and cured two or three times. As a result, the steps for forming the dielectric layer increase and additional equipments should be provided therefor. Also, bubbles or foreign material can be generated or included in the dielectric layer during the step of coating the dielectric layer 18 and it is not easy to coat the dielectric layer 18 to a uniform thickness. The uneven dielectric layer 18 can cause difference in voltage applied to the dielectric layer to lower operational reliability of the display. Further, the dielectric layer 18 lowers light transmittance with respect to the front substrate 15 and accordingly resolution of an image is lowered.
To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a plasma display device which can reduce the man-hour needed for manufacturing the dielectric layer and improve brightness of an image.
Accordingly, to achieve the above objective, there is provided a plasma display device which comprises: a pair of substrates installed to face each other, at least one of the substrates being formed of a dielectric thin plate; a plurality of partitions for defining a discharge space formed between the substrates; and an electrode formed on an outer surface of the substrate which is formed of the dielectric thin plate.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma display device which comprises: a rear substrate: a first electrode formed on an upper surface of the rear substrate in a striped pattern; a dielectric layer formed on the upper surface of the rear surface such that the first electrode is embedded therein; a plurality of partitions defining a discharge space formed on an upper surface of the dielectric layer; a front substrate installed above the partitions and formed of a transparent dielectric thin plate; and second and third electrodes formed on an upper surface of the front substrate to cross with the first electrode.